The first step for my shop

[Frank S]

Frank;
That hole sure would be a nice place for some scuba lessons !
My PADI has expired , but still!

However the dirt does look a bit too lose could be a safety issue .

Cheers
Bruce S

Could always lay up some steel mesh and shoot the walls with shot crete

[Mary B]

Add a few bass, some bait fish... walk out of the shop and fish! Heck just stock it with crappies and bat fish... good eating that replaces itself!

[Bruce S]

What Mary B said!
Let me know either way, I'll start packing the gear and reels!

I also know how to use a blue-tip wrench! Weld and haven't met an older diesel I couldn't work on.

Cheers
Bruce S

[Frank S]

I'm not much on bass or crappy unless they are big enough to slice a filet off of the sides but that goes for pretty much any fish it its not big enough to filet I'm throwing it back 

[Mary B]

TX is well known for monster crappie...

[Frank S]

This morning my wife thought I had finally stripped the cogs off of the last remaining brain cell in my head when I told her I was going to arrange a few things which would eventually lead to adding another bay on the shop should ZI ever require it.
She said Frank you have already gone from building a 4000 sq ft shop to one that will be 6000 sq ft and you are no closer to completing it than you were before you decided to make it bigger.
Why do you think you want to make it larger now instead of latter if you need it.
So this brings me to how I came up with the idea I have some storage van trailers that are parked just inside my fence out next to the highway in front of the shop. I will need to relocate them eventually any way, so why not pre plan on how to make best use of their storage capabilities. Right now they are full of stuff that most of it will be place in the shop once it is closer to completion. but where the trailers are located it is most difficult to transport materials or equipment from them.
So I decided to spend some time now and save even more time latter by relocating the trailers or at least prepare an area where I will be relocating them. To not do this might mean I would not be able to place them where I want them due to the amount of fill I still need to add, plus once I park and ground the tool room trailer it may be completely impossible to place one of them anyway.
So I began the day moving a load of bar joists which will be used for the rood between the shop and the machine shop trailer. then I moved my forklift that has been parked at the end of the container on the North side of the shop ever since the container had been placed there.
Then I moved my steel rack and a lot of other materials which was in my way
then pushed off about a foot of the soft dirt and refilled with the rejected fill material I have been mining for the shop floor. Since the area will not be brought up to grade any time soon the reject fill would serve to harden up the soil enough to place the first trailer there Plus by leaving the area about 2 feet below the finished floor level once I remove the wheels and tires entry to the trailers will only be about a foot above the eventual slab Also I plan to put the trailers with about a 25 ft bay between them which may eventually be roofed over
And that is how the insane mind of the Frank functions

[Frank S]

I had a container show up Monday My buds job contract had been called due to mud so he arrived around 9:30 the driver showed up around 10:00
we transferred the container from the drivers trailer to ours by winching it sideways off the trailer using the slide skates I had made for when my bud hauls containers placing them under the corners of the container using as toe jack. From the time the driver arrived util the time we had the container on the ground in place was 45 minutes




Yesterday we finished up getting the remaining poles in the ground
after being inspected by the jobsite supper and his building inspector

and the civil engineer checking the compaction

then the safety officer showed up for a conference. Man who can work with all these inspectors and officers around.

[Frank S]

That was yesterday So I figured that today I might get 2 of the end trusses up but was going to have to move the bus scaffold and lower its height some how.
But then this morning I had barely finished breakfast and my 4th cup of coffee dreading the prospect of what was ahead for the day, About this time some guy who is not chopped liver.

By the end of the day in near 100° heat this is what we had done. When there is a second pair of hands around to help hold things and move things quite a bit can get done even with taking more breaks than working. Crawling out to the middle of a bar joist that is only chained off on one end and resting on top of the pole on the other to release the lifting strap several times is so much fun I recommend it to everyone Just don't tell Jane what I did.

[Frank S]

Well pretty much at the halfway point on the lean to roof now. Would have been finished by now if was using straight new metal. But my standing seem sheets have been used at least twice before and have been transported lots of the sheets have damaged edges which has to be hammered back in shape before the next sheet will interlock over it. plus I only have half enough full length sheets so am using half sheets every other space.
 got nine sections on yesterday then ran low on screws and had a threat of weather so knocked off around 2:30 in the 106° heat to go after screws.
 Got started this morning and by 2:00 again the thunder wind and lightening brought things a halt but now am right at halfway.

[DanG]

Crawling out to the middle of a bar joist.. .

  You didn't mention sun heated steel at 144° providing generous incentives 

(I respectfully decline to comment something about needing more wall shipping containers to foul flying seam airfoil lift coefficients under Murphy's 82nd Law of Aerodynamics)

[Frank S]

Another 100 plus day, started at false dawn almost light enough to see. got to within 8 sections of being finished and ran out of screws again. The other day when we went to town to get screws the hardware store was closed for computer upgrades and inventory so had to borrow from a mechanic friend who is adding to his small shop He only had about 300 but that allowed us to work yesterday and today ran out again around 1 PM today OK tht was already a good 7 hours and it was getting hot by this time anyway. Hope the hardware store is open so after while can buy more screws so can finish up tomorrow

 Also in about a month I have another 20 ft container coming I'm going to set it on top of the one that is already there I have stacking locks to lock them together the one that is there weights just over 15,000 lbs and the next one will be at least 12,000 and they will be tied to the posts.
 In the future I might have as many as 4 more 40 footers extending out the back of the shop, and possibly another 20 footer with I beams welded on the sides then buried in the greenhouse for a root cellar

[keithturtle]

Had a little snow recently well close to 14 inches to be exact
(Attachment Link)

Is there enough structure to support the snow you had last winter?  But then again, what are the odds you'll get that much again?

Turtle

[Frank S]

Had a little snow recently well close to 14 inches to be exact
(Attachment Link)

Is there enough structure to support the snow you had last winter?  But then again, what are the odds you'll get that much again?

Turtle

Should be the structure was removed from a place that had been through an 18" snow fall and was still standing
 2 200 plus lb men can stand in the middle of a single piece of the standing seem roofing material laying on a pair of 8" concrete blocks set 15 feet apart the bar joist over the shop van will have vertical steel attached to it to complete that wall the 2 end trusses I made can withstand several 1000lb of load however the end trusses and the center bar joist attached to the center pole will have diagonal bracing on them as well there is quite a bit more bracing and sheeting to be added in vertical members as the side walls are constructed. The poles will be attached to the container and the van trailer as well.
 We finished sheeting the roof this morning by around 8:30 now I only have the weather observatory ports to close up

[Frank S]

Well in just under a week the 2 of us old farts managed to beat bang straighten, cut, weld, lift, climb and screw ourselves right out of a job by 8:30 Saturday morning even with taking a 500+ mile round trip on Tuesday. and running out of screws twice by using up every available screw in the county.
 Now I have some bracing to do and several weather observatory ports to close.
 We got started Sat. Morning in the pre dawn light with about 6 or 7 sheet sections remaining and a very small box of screws only 80 in the box but upon completion there were 3 screws left so turned out just fine. I've ordered 700 to replace the ones I borrowed and to have a couple hundred on hand.

I have to say adding the 1500 sqft of additional roof area on the South of the structure has really enhanced the size and useable space of the someday shop

[DamonHD]

Your use of the word "borrow" there should get you a free bonus law degree!

Rgds

Damon

PS. I'm just in awe as what you have achieved and are still achieving as (a) I'm not very good with my hands and (b) I live on a small plot in cramped and expensive London UK.

[Frank S]

Your use of the word "borrow" there should get you a free bonus law degree!

Rgds

Damon

PS. I'm just in awe as what you have achieved and are still achieving as (a) I'm not very good with my hands and (b) I live on a small plot in cramped and expensive London UK.

Maybe but that night I ordered several hundred screws online to repay the ones I received from my friend/s I just have to remember who get how many LOL

[Frank S]

My friend who had driven down from Connecticut then helped me for a week left yesterday morning on his 2000 mile drive home called me this afternoon I could hear his wife in the background so I knew he had already made it home almost before he had told me of the fact.
 Then he asked me what my plans were for adding more extensions to the building.
 Fact is I do have plans for a 40 by 50 separate enclosed area to be the vehicle repair and restoration area but that comes later as does an area of about 40 x 60 feet which would house a self contained a paint booth and a sandblast booth but those again are long range down the line projects.

[Frank S]

Time flies when your having fun, well so the story goes I am told. Truth be told life itself gets in the way of our doing the things we feel we should be doing.
 in the past month just that has been happening I had several vehicles that I needed to do some work on to get them out of my way.
A couple of trailers that had air leaks in the brake systems, Swapping around  the steering tires on the Mack since it was going back on the road and no longer needed the over width steering tires for driving around in a field on a solar farm project.
 I got one of my expeditions running the Dodge 2500 transmission done and its gone the red Suburban is gone and I got the 2500 Chevy transmission working without having to pull it so it is gone the only vehicles left in the shop is my 93F350 that I need to pull the transmission and rebuild it but that will have to wait a while , and a f150 that I need to section in a new rear frame section and a new bed mount to make it safe to be driven but that is a back burner project just now in the mean time it works just fine as storage and to move things around on the place.
 So I started getting a few things done to the North side of the shop I want to get the North and the South sealed in before fall.
 Since I am all about using materials on hand when ever possible and saving my new stock for later I decided to weld together some of the old 2" diameter round purlin tubes from the old building I tore down for materials to build this shop with.
 I am insulating with the 3" thick PIR freezer insulation panels it has a high R value plus being closed cell it is also self extinguishing and will not support flame

Working my way around after getting the wall to the 8 ft high mark instead of setting up scaffold or dragging the bus scaffold around.
 I decided it was a good time to get the stairs and landings in place to gain access to the bus on top of the JB hunt container

Just needs a few girts and it will be ready for a floor

step landings in place I will use angle iron for the risers and tread supports

But now that I have used up all of my 4" sq tubing except for a couple of very short pieces and some new sticks with 3/8" wall thickness
 I needed to come up with something else for the stringers. For these I decided to use the side rails off of the upper deck that I cut off a trailer to use the frame as the base for the brick crane I think it is no more than fitting that these wind up as part of the building as well

[Frank S]

Its been over a month now since I remembered to post here so some update should be in order.
I have been working on getting the North wall closed in and insulated as I went so now have it closed to the bus and to the 8 ft high level the rest of the way to the stairway which will also encompass a shop restroom that I can make ADA compliant for future should the need arise.
Starting with the stairway

Next I began installing some lighting in the shop so far I only have 4 100 watt LED lights installed

the switches with room for more

next the North wall

For the roof over the stairway I used my remaining standing seam panels

the start of the East wall

[electrondady1]

really shaping up now. quite the project.

[Frank S]

really shaping up now. quite the project.

Currently I have the help of a friend visiting from CT. who is helping me He arrived this week now I'll see how much we can get done while he is here. Hopefully it will be quite a lot

[Frank S]

Yesterday and today were very productive
 I had a 8ft by 25 ft steel gate that was just begging to be used on the shop we used it as the drop roof between the lean to portion of the shop and the Machine shop van then finished it off today I also welded together all of the short pieces of the remaining standing seam panel I had to use as a gutter at the bottom of the drop roof

Then we moved back to the North side of the building and worked on the stairway

the stairway now is pretty much enclosed except for the West side and the entry way door

[Frank S]

We got the end cap finished on the west wall today. Now still need to put the corner flashing up and build about 20 to 25 feet of wall then I can hang the 48 ft wide roll up curtain door

[Frank S]

The east wall is finished except for locating one of my HHG trailers against it and closing that in.
 Finished the flashing on the West end cap installed the end cap on the East end and ran out of flashing so started closing in the 28 foot of the west wall in front of the bus and the stairway. then ran out of screws around noon today.


 

[Frank S]

I now have the stairway area closed in with the help of 2 of my arch enemies leaning against the panels while I screwed them in place

[Scruff]

I quite like this thread...it's got Think Big written all over it.

[clockmanFRA]

Eye , Eye, Scruff.

Yes i agree, Nice one Frank.

Watching the whole process from holes in the ground to this construction state is very inspirational.

In fact my humble construction is very tame compared to Frank S' s.

He has so much energy and obviously very nice and good friends.

I mixed and laid 2 cubic meters of cement for the skim on my concrete floor in my new garage yesterday, now knackered, need today off to recover.

[Frank S]

Gone but not forgotten.
 The end of an era has arrived of sorts.
 While there will always be a need to scaffold my bus scaffold was getting to the point of being just too cumbersome to use effectively as it was becoming more trouble to try and move into a position just to be on it for a few minutes than it was worth.

the 3/4 treated plywood can now be used to floor the landings in the stairway. The 2x4s can become part of the stud wall for the restroom.
 later on I will probably cut off the rear of the chassis behind the springs remove the cowl and hood then mount my Mack 755 cab fenders and hood on it I have an Allison transmission for it or a smaller Mack quadraplex not sure which  way I will decide to go on that issue.
 For another mobile scaffold if I build one, I have a short wheel base 1 ton chassis or a couple of Ford rangers that I could build a single or double section scaffold on as long as I add drop legs for stability.

[Frank S]

this is about as close as I am going to be able to get my storage trailer to where I want it while still connected to my cab over freightliner

[Frank S]

And so the next step begins. The task is to lower the trailer about 3 feet.
This will entail separating the chassis from the box. Fortunately I had this in mind when I built it making the chassis and sub frame separately.
I will begin by cribbing up at the rear all the way to the sub frame which extends further back than the chassis then place 2 cribbing stacks on each side nearer the front one stack on each side will be under the trailer to allow it to be raised off of the chassis after I gouge the welds free the other stacks will be placed much wider apart so after the box is raised I can work a house moving beam between the box and the chassis and let it rest on the cribbing then it will be just a matter of removing the jacks and smaller stacks of cribbing and driving out from under the box. After that it may get interesting lowering the box in stages
the beginning of block stacking

[SparWeb]

You young guys sure like grunt-work. 
Wish I was as young as you.

[Scruff]

I like to sit beside hard work and design machines to do it for me...

[Mary B]

Jealous! I finally broke down and ordered a real tool box and some new hand tools to replace the $20 truckload sale crap I have been using for years(and is missing a lot of pieces via breakage), and got a small welder(MIG, TIG, Stick, Spool gun all included) and small plasma cutter(clean cut 1/8" which is all I need) to do my little projects...